Columbia’s Kyle Merber ran an American Collegiate Record of 3:35.59 in the 1,500m at Swarthmore’s Last Chance Meet earlier in the week. On May 14, Merber bettered the marks held by William and Mary’s Brian Hyde and Arkansas’s Joe Falcon who both ran 3:35.84 in their respective eras (Hyde ran his on March 15, 1995 while Falcon’s was on April 16, 1988). Merber, who was injured with a severe foot injury in the 2010-2011 seasons and has been on the comeback since, now sits on top of the NCAA performance list and looks to be one of the favorites to win. Villanova’s Sam McEntee was another collegiate in the race, finishing in fourth with his time of 3:36.81. McEntee’s time places him third on the NCAA’s performance list.

Villanova’s Sheila Reid won the 1,500m on the women’s side. Reid crossed the line ahead of a slew of unattached and professionally sponsored athletes, winning with the time of 4:14.27. Her time places her as the current no. 11 fastest collegiate of the season in the event. Villanova teammate Nicky Akande finished in fifth in 4:17.33, a big PR for the Lady Wildcat.

The Oxy High Performance Meet lived up to its namesake. In heat two of the men’s 3,000m steeplechase Donn Cabral of Princeton set at new American Collegiate Record of 8:19.14. The Princeton senior broke the former mark of 8:19.27 held by Farley Gerber of Weber State run on June 1, 1984. Cabral won the event outrunning professional athletes such as Reebok’s Dan Huling, Nike sponsored athlete Kyle Alcorn, and Evan Jager of the Nike OTC.

In the 1,500m Riley Masters, who recently transferred from the University of Maine to Oklahoma this past year, raced against pros like Mo Farah and Galen Rupp and finished in sixth with the time of 3:37.19. Indoor Mile Collegiate Record Holder Miles Batty of BYU was in the same section and finished ninth with his time of 3:37.50. 2012 NCAA Indoor Mile Champion Chris O’Hare of Tulsa raced in the second section and finished tenth with the time of 3:39.22. O’Hare has a season best of 3:37.95 run at the April 29 Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational hosted by Stanford.

On the women’s side in the 1,500m, Natalja Piliusina of Oklahoma State, who holds the NCAA’s current fastest time in the event, mixed it up with pros Shannon Rowbury and Anna Pierce and finished in tenth with her time of 4:13.95. Rowbury was the winner of the event in 4:05.92.

BYU’s Nachelle Mackie competed in the first section of the women’s 800m. Mackie finished in fourth with the time of 2:01.84. Her season’s best is still a bit faster as she ran 2:01.11 at the April 19 Mt. SAC Relays, the current NCAAs best. Her time run at the Oxy High Performance Meet would still place her at the top of the NCAA performance list.

This past weekend, Division III athletes finalized their chances to make it into the May 24-26 2012 DIII NCAA Championships held in Claremont, Cali. In the men’s 1,500m at the Gregory Final Qualifier hosted by North Central College, Dan Sullivan from Wis.-Stevens Point ran the fifth fastest time in DIII. Sullivan, a sophomore, won the event by running 3:47.39 over second place finisher Jack Deichert from Hamline. Deichert finished in second by running 3:49.56.

Devin Monson from Hamline ran away from the rest of the competitors in the 5,000m. Monson ran the fifth fastest time in DIII with his winning time of 14:12.57. Teammate Jack Deichert, who also ran the 1,500m, was the next collegiate finisher in fourth with his time of 14:26.99.

Wis.-Oshkosh’s Tyler Morey won a competitive 3,000m steeplechase. Morey ran DIII’s no. 13 time of 9:04.74 by winning the event over Jake Waterman from Wheaton (Ill.). Waterman, a sophomore, finished in 9:06.09, just ahead of Elmhurst’s Jake Austin’s third place time of 9:06.25.

On the women’s side, Nicole Michmerhuizen from Calvin College won the 10,000m. Michmerhuizen, a sophomore, won the event with her time of 36:26.23 ahead of Hannah Kinberg from Nebraska Wesleyan. Kinberg hit the NAIA’s automatic qualifying time of 37:30.00 with her time of 36:32.94.

In the 800m, freshman Katie Reid of Ohio Wesleyan ran an impressive 2:10.46 for the win. Her time places her 11th on the DIII NCAA performance list. Jessica Thornton of Birmingham-Southern was the second place finisher in 2:10.70. Jaime Orewiler of Wheaton (Ill.) was third in 2:11.65

NCAA Division II NCAA Championships - Pueblo, Colo.This is the final event for Division II athletes to see if they can finish in one of the top eight spots and claim a All-American honors.You can find a list of accepted entries here.

NCAA Division I West Regional Championships - Austin, TexasDivision I athletes line up for the penultimate time before the NCAA Championships to see if they have what it takes to make it to the Big Dance. A list of accepted entires can be found here.